Ravinia 2023 Issue 3

SHERVIN LAINEZ (OUZOUNIAN); GRITTANI CREATIVE (KRAMER) KAREN OUZOUNIAN Winner of the S&R Foundation’s Washing- ton Award, cellist Karen Ouzounian leads a multi-faceted career as a chamber musician, soloist, collaborator, and composer. At the heart of her artistic practice is a love of un- usual collaborations and the development of adventurous new works: current and recent projects include premieres of Lembit Beech- er’s Tell Me Again with the Orlando Philhar- monic and Anna Clyne’s Shorthand with The Knights, the latter including an extensive tour and recording on Avie; commissioning the cello/voice work Bring Your Own Garden Party from Christina Courtin; and creating an experimental theater work with director Joanna Settle. Ouzounian was featured in the digital premiere of Beecher’s A Year to the Day with violinist Augustin Hadelich and tenor Nicholas Phan on The Violin Channel, and in 2021 on BroadBand she presented her video work In Motion , an exploration of heritage, family history and migration through inter- views, her own compositions, and collabora- tions with visual artists Kevork Mourad and Nomi Sasaki and percussionist Haruka Fujii. Ouzounian’s passion for chamber music led her to co-found the Aizuri Quartet—honored with the Cleveland Quartet Award and prize- winners of the M-Prize, Osaka, and Wigmore Hall Competitions—which held a residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was nominated for a Grammy with its debut al- bum, Blueprinting , which featured new works written for the quartet by five American composers. Her discography also includes Kayhan Kalhor’s Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur , Osvaldo Golijov’s Falling Out of Time with the Silkroad Ensemble, and the chamber music of Tigran Mansurian. Ou- zounian recently premiered her composition Der Zor on tour with Silkroad Ensemble, and she has also performed as a member of The Knights and as guest principal cellist of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, on tour with Musicians from Marlboro, and in recital at Caramoor with pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute. Karen Ouzounian was a Ravinia Steans Music Institute fellow in 2010 and ’11 and returned in 2013 for an alumni tour; with the Aizu- ri Quartet, she was an RSMI fellow again in 2014 and returned to Ravinia for concerts in 2019 and ’22. She has also performed at Ra- vinia as a member of The Knights. HENRY KRAMER A 2019 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the second-prize winner of the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Competition, Henry Kram- er began playing piano at age 11 in his Maine hometown. Inspired by the film melodies that a friend was playing on piano, he began teaching himself on his family’s old upright; formal lessons soon followed, and he quick- ly found further inspiration in the music of Chopin and Mozart. After emerging as the winner of the National Chopin Competition in 2010, Kramer earned top honors from the Montreal International Competition (2011), China Shanghai International Piano Compe- tition (2012), Astral Artists Auditions (2014), and Honens International Piano Competi- tion (2015). A versatile performer, Kramer has been a concerto soloist with the Bilkent (Türkiye) and Indianapolis Symphonies, Calgary and Shanghai Philharmonics, and Belgian National Orchestra, among other en- sembles, and he has appeared in recitals at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Mainly Mozart and Mostly Mozart Festi- vals, and La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest. In recent seasons, Kramer earned plaudits performing Rachmaninoff ’s Third Concerto with the Hartford Symphony and premier- ing a work he commissioned from compos- er Han Lash at the BravoPiano! festival. He also debuted on New York’s Salon Séance and appeared at the Phillips Collection in Wash- ington, DC, and Toronto’s Koerner Hall; at the Anchorage, Lakes Area, Rockport, and Vivo Music Festivals; and on series by Em- erald City Music (Seattle), Newport Classi- cal, and Vancouver Chamber Music Society, among other engagements. Kramer received critical praise for his collaborative album on Cedille with violist Matthew Lipman as well as his recording with violinist Jiyoon Lee on the Champs Hill label. His collaborators have also included flutist Emmanuel Pahud, the Calidore and Pacifica Quartets, violinist Mir- iam Fried, and members of the Berlin Phil- harmonic and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Last fall he joined the music faculty at the University of Montreal, having previously held positions at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, Smith College, and Columbus State Univer- sity in Georgia. Henry Kramer was a Ravinia Steans Music Institute fellow in 2011 and ’12 and returned for the 2014 alumni tour that included performances in Cuba. PAVILION 8:00 PM FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2023 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MARIN ALSOP, conductor GABRIELA MONTERO, piano VALENTINA PELEGGI, guest conductor † CHICAGO SYMPHONY CHORUS ANTHONY BLAKE CLARK, guest director ORTIZ Antrópolis ** Los Infiernos—El Bombay—El Tutti Fruti— Salón Colonia MONTERO Piano Concerto No. 1 (“Latin”) ** Mambo Andante moderato Allegro venezolano Gabriela Montero –Intermission– PANUFNIK Across the Line of Dreams ** (performed without breaks between parts) Part I. Harriet Tubman Part II. Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi Part III. Harriet & Lakshmibai Marin Alsop, Valentina Peleggi, Chicago Symphony Chorus VILLA-LOBOS Chôros No. 10 ( Rasga o Coração ) ** Chicago Symphony Chorus † Ravinia debut ** First performance by the CSO and at Ravinia Ravinia expresses its appreciation for the generous support of Season Sponsor Jennifer Steans and James Kastenholz . Ravinia is grateful for the Lead Sponsorship of Breaking Barriers 2023 In Honor of Sandra K. Crown . RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 17 – JULY 30, 2023 30 I I I ; I I I